On Race to the Top funds, Perry's telling it all wrong

On Race to the Top funds, Perry's telling it wrong

DEBRA KERNER, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Published 6:30 am, Friday, January 15, 2010

Texas needs to sign on to the national education standards program and apply for the Race to the Top funds. Texas is one of only two states, the other being Alaska, that have not signed on to the national education standards.

Reports that the national education standards program is an attempt by the federal government to take over local schools are based on misinformation.

Just last month, I met with a deputy assistant secretary of education in Washington, D.C., who explained that the federal government is not setting the standards: The states will actually set the standards.

The development of national standards is a state-led process that will prepare our students for the competition they will face as they seek higher education and career opportunities. Our students take the SAT and ACT exams for college admission. They must first compete with their counterparts from across the country (and the world) in their efforts to gain admission into institutions of higher learning. Then they must compete yet again for employment opportunities.

According to the Web site for the Texas state comptroller of public accounts, Susan Combs (www.window.state.tx.us), Texas ranks 49th in verbal SAT scores and 46th in math scores. Texas is 50th in the percentage of residents 25 years or older with a high school diploma.

If our education standards in Texas are so high, as officials claim, then why do our students rank so low? By signing on to the national education standards, which are being developed by the states, we have a voice at the table. If we don't sign on to the standards, we do not have the opportunity to provide relevant input related to the development of the standards. As a result, Texas gets left out in the cold. Gov. Rick Perry, don't leave our children out in the cold! Our children need to continue to strive for the excellence in education they deserve.

According to the article in Thursday's Chronicle (“Perry rejects federal school money,” Page A1), Perry has decided not to compete for the federal school funds — the Race to the Top funds — that would make our state eligible for between $300 million and $700 million in federal grant funding. Perry said, “Texas reserves the right to decide how we educate our students and not surrender that control to the federal bureaucracy.” The development of national standards is a process led by state governors, school chiefs, boards of education and legislatures.

The federal government is trying to support the efforts with federal funds. Perry attempts to justify his decision not to sign on to the national education standards by saying that our standards are already high. Again, I ask: If our standards are so high, why do we rank so low? Also according to the comptroller's Web site, “Texas was the only state in the nation to cut average per pupil expenditures in fiscal year 2005, resulting in a ranking of 40th nationally; down from 25th in fiscal year 1999. Texas is sixth in the nation in student growth. The general student population in Texas public schools grew by 11.1 percent between school years 1999 and 2005, with the largest percentage of growth seen among low-income and minority children.”

Perry is cutting education funding while our school population is growing. He is playing politics with our schoolchildren, and it is costing our state millions of dollars.

In December, in my role as a county school trustee, I was part of a group that went to Washington to meet with a deputy assistant secretary of education to discuss the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. While we were there, the deputy assistant secretary explained to us how the states are developing the national education standards.

While this is solely my opinion, it is based on firsthand discussions from that meeting last month. I think we need to sign on to the national education standards and apply for the Race to the Top funds for the benefit of our children in this state.